Willjlevith's Blog

Viva Voce

Rose City

Barsuk Records

Produced by Viva Voce

Street Date: May 26, 2009

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I first came upon Viva Voce three years and change ago, with their release Get Yr Blood Sucked Out. The band is a husband-and-wife team—Kevin (drums/vocals) and Anita (guitars/bass/vocals) Robinson—that plays this driving, psychedelic indie rock (I wouldn’t quite call it “stoner” rock). Originally based in Muscle Shoals, AL (yes, “it’s got the swampus,” whatever that’s supposed to mean), the band ultimately landed in Portland, OR, a recent headquarters for indie rock musicians. I’ve heard it described as the “Williamsburg, Brooklyn” of the West Coast (that should mean a whole lot of nothing to you non-New Yorkers). To put it simply, it’s a haven for the hip, artsy and musical. (Skinny jeans abound!)

When I first received the advance for Blood, I remember imagining this giant collective: Viva Voce’s sound is mighty big. Lots of hearty guitars, big drums. So imagine my surprise when I found out the band consisted of just two souls. Sure, the Police got a huge sound out of three, but this was just two. The other twosome that comes to mind, in terms of sheer sonic output, would be The White Stripes, but I honestly don’t even count Meg White as a single member—she’s like the mustard stain on your shirt after eating a big, juicy Fenway Frank. Not to mention the fact that The White Stripes are on a whole different trip than Viva Voce; a much more bluesy one.

At the time, there were two songs on the album that I had on permanent repeat: “From the Devil Himself,” an acoustic-based jam featuring Kevin on vocals, which transforms into this psych rave, with the meatiest bass riff under it; and “We Do Not Fuck Around,” another Kevin-sung ditty, which I guess speaks for itself. Sure, the other tracks on the album had merit, but these were the two standouts, and as I mentioned in my Car Wheels on a Gravel Road review, it’s hard for me to enjoy an album (or be compelled to buy one) if I only like one song on it. So in this case, I loved two, so Viva Voce had a lot going for them from the get-go.

I must also confess that I was able to see Viva Voce live—they opened up for The Shins at Madison Square Garden. It’s one thing to take in a band on disc or vinyl, it’s a whole other ballgame live. I’m not entirely sure what I expected of the band, but I forced my buddy to go to the show early so we could catch the opener. It paid off. Viva Voce was just as good live as they were on the album. I’d say they were better. There were two factors working in their favor that night: They played the shit out of their songs and hit pretty much every note, which is the sign of a tight band; and Anita Robinson absolutely fucking blew me away on guitar (in fact, I think she was playing a contraption that had bass strings on the low register and guitar strings on the upper). Like the listen-crush I have on Lucinda Williams’ “Right In Time,” I have a guitarist-crush on Anita Robinson. She makes Bonnie Raitt look second-rate (like that pun?). Seriously, killer riffage.

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So, after all that, I bring you to the Rose City review. It’s three years later, and I’ve listened to what seems like a billion more songs, and every day since then, I’ve hoped that the next Viva Voce album would make its way to my kitchen table. And what do you know? Here it is.

Let me begin by saying that I read a report last year on MySpace that Viva Voce was no more—that they had morphed into a full band called Blue Giant and they would be recording as such. I wasn’t sure what to think. Would their sound be the same, expanded? Or would the mystic two-equals-seven [members] be lost? Well, the press release mentions Blue Giant but nothing of the supposed fracture, so I’m relieved. However, it does note that Kevin and Anita have added two members to the “official lineup,” Corrina Repp and Evan Railton. So, in fact, I am working with a new set of paints. You’re probably wondering: Is the two-equals-seven equation gone? Read on.

First impression: Technically speaking, two-equals-seven is now four-equals-nine. The original “sound” that Anita and Kevin produced is still there and still Brobdingnagian. In fact, it’s hard to see where the two new members fit in to the recording. The press says nothing about Repp or Railton being on the album, so I’m going to go forward assuming that we’re just hearing KevinAnita. I must confess, this review has taken me so long to write, this is the third listen of the album I’ve taken part in over the last few days. So this is more of  a third impression. All the pieces are there: Kevin- and Anita-sung songs, psychedelic guitars that swirl around like tornadoes, chunky bass-lines and above-average songwriting. Anita must enjoy ’60s pop—because that aesthetic pops up in her melodies. This is music that makes you want to get up and dance to. Shall we?

Song(s) of note: I’m going to touch on just one song, because I could sit here and type all day long, and I would still only really be acting as a catalyst to you, RRR reader, buying a Viva Voce record (hopefully this one, when it comes out). The body of work on Rose City is similar in its cohesiveness to Get Yr Blood Sucked Out: You can listen to the entire shebang in one sitting. But the song that defines the band’s “sound,” at least for me, is “Die a Little,” the second track. It features Anita on lead vocals (with Kevin a few octaves below), with this cool little woo-ooo-ooo additive to the end of each chorus. It’s got the driving bass-line, drums and a lead guitar drenched in a chorus effect. And it’s but two minutes long (good things come in small packages). It makes you want to get into a car and drive across the country. If you do drive cross-country this summer, put this one on your driving mix.

Roundup: What can I say? Viva Voce still has its game on—and with the addition of two new members, I can’t wait to hear this album live. I’ll give this album a strong 3.5S to 4S. Buy it when it drops.

Will Levith